Vehicle support systems for pedestrians to cross roads and support methods for pedestrians to cross roads

ABSTRACT

A vehicle support system for supporting a man in safely crossing a road without crosswalks installed is provided. The vehicle support system includes a man-detecting unit detecting a man, a subject-vehicle-position detecting unit detecting a position of a vehicle, a man-position/waiting-score calculating unit determining the detected man to be a potential-crossing-man who may cross the road, calculating an absolute position of the potential-crossing-man, measuring waiting time of the potential-crossing-man to cross the road, calculating a waiting score, and storing the result in a man-position/waiting-score storing unit, a stopping-vehicle determining unit determining whether or not the vehicle should be stopped based on the position and the waiting score of the potential-crossing-man, a travelling controller stopping the vehicle when the vehicle should be stopped, and a pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit displaying information indicating whether or not crossing the road is safe based on an instruction of the stopping-vehicle determining unit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority under 35 USC 119 to JapanesePatent Application No. 2009-280165 filed on Dec. 10, 2009 the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a pedestrian-crossing support system,mounted in a vehicle, such as an autonomous vehicle or a passengerautomobile, for supporting a pedestrian in safely crossing a road at anyplace, and a method for supporting a pedestrian in crossing a road.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, an apparatus mounted in a vehicle for supportingavoidance of a crash has been disclosed in, for example, Japanese PatentLaid-Open No. H10-105891, the entire contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference. Such vehicle support apparatus detects anobstacle, including a pedestrian, around a vehicle, and, when thevehicle is determined to have a risk of crashing into the obstacle,stops the vehicle, or warns the vehicle driver.

An apparatus for supporting a pedestrian in safely crossing a road at acrosswalk which has been installed on the road is disclosed in, forexample, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-175590, the entire contentsof which are hereby incorporated by reference.

The conventional art enables avoidance of a crash between a vehicle anda pedestrian running into a roadway, and enables a pedestrian to besupported in safely crossing a road at a crosswalk already installed onthe road.

However, the conventional art has a difficulty in avoiding harsh brakingof the vehicle when a pedestrian runs into a roadway having nocrosswalk, and enabling the pedestrian to safely cross the roadway.

On a road having no crosswalk, neither a crosswalk nor a traffic signalfor pedestrians is present, and thus a pedestrian has a difficulty insafely crossing a road. Since no equipment for supporting a pedestrianin crossing a road is present on a road, the pedestrian needs to check atravelling vehicle visually to determine whether or not the pedestriancan safely cross the road. However, visual checking of a vehicle by apedestrian has a limitation, and particularly, it is difficult for thepedestrian to predict how a vehicle is going to move.

Installation of equipment on a road, such as a crosswalk or a trafficsignal for pedestrians, enables a pedestrian to safely cross the road.To enable a pedestrian to safely crossing a road at any place where thepedestrian wants to cross, a large number of equipment, such ascrosswalks and traffic signals for pedestrians, are required. This leadsto a problem of high cost of installation of the equipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made to solve the above problem. Anobject thereof is to provide a vehicle support system for supporting aman in safely crossing roads and a method for supporting a man incrossing roads.

To achieve the object, a vehicle according to the present inventionserves as a traffic signal for pedestrians. The vehicle, which is a riskfor, for example, a pedestrian or a bicyclist, serving as a trafficsignal for pedestrians ensures that a traffic signal for pedestrians ispresent any time around the risk, which is the vehicle. Also, thevehicle serving as a traffic signal for pedestrians has an advantage ofenabling a pedestrian to be informed how the vehicle is going to move.

The vehicle support system for men to cross roads of the presentinvention is a vehicle system for supporting a man in safely crossing aroad at any place. To avoid a crash, the vehicle support systemincludes: a man-detecting unit detecting a man as apotential-crossing-man who may cross the road; asubject-vehicle-position detecting unit; a man-position/waiting-scorecalculating unit (for example, a man-position/waiting-score calculatingunit 5) calculating position information regarding thepotential-crossing-man as a man position based on position informationfrom the man-detecting unit and the subject-vehicle-position detectingunit, measuring waiting time of the potential-crossing-man to cross theroad, calculating a waiting score, which is an index of waiting time,and storing the calculated result in a man-position/waiting-scorestoring unit (for example, a man-position/waiting-score storing unit 6);a stopping-vehicle determining unit determining whether or not thevehicle should be stopped to enable a man to safely cross the road,based on the man position and the waiting score of thepotential-crossing-man; a travelling controller stopping the vehiclewhen the stopping-vehicle determining unit determines that the vehicleshould be stopped; and a man-crossing-signal display unit (for example,a pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13) displaying informationindicating whether or not the man can safely cross the road.

The present invention can support a pedestrian in safely crossing aroad.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of apedestrian-crossing support system;

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a vehicle having thepedestrian-crossing support system;

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a situation in which vehicles having thepedestrian-crossing support system travel;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of aman-position/waiting-score calculating unit in the pedestrian-crossingsupport system;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing how a man-detecting unit in thepedestrian-crossing support system detects men;

FIG. 6 is a graph showing a relation between a waiting score and awaiting time for a man to cross a road in the pedestrian-crossingsupport system;

FIG. 7 is a graph showing a relation between a waiting score and awaiting time for a man to cross a road in the pedestrian-crossingsupport system;

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a situation in which vehicles having thepedestrian-crossing support system travel;

FIG. 9 is a graph showing a relation between a waiting score and awaiting time for a man to cross a road in the pedestrian-crossingsupport system;

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a situation in which vehicles having thepedestrian-crossing support system travel;

FIG. 11 is a graph showing a relation between a waiting score and awaiting time for a man to cross a road in the pedestrian-crossingsupport system;

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a situation in which vehicles having thepedestrian-crossing support system travel;

FIG. 13 is a graph showing a relation between a waiting score and awaiting time for a man to cross a road in the pedestrian-crossingsupport system;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a stopping-vehicledetermining unit in the pedestrian-crossing support system;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a stopping-vehicle-signalanalyzing unit in the pedestrian-crossing support system;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a modification ofthe pedestrian-crossing support system; and

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing a situation in which the modification ofthe pedestrian-crossing support system is carried out.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail withreference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of apedestrian-crossing support system. A pedestrian-crossing support system1 (i.e., a vehicle support system for men to cross roads) is mounted ina vehicle v, such as an autonomous vehicle or a passenger automobile,and supports a man m, such as a pedestrian or a bicyclist, in safelycrossing a road on which the vehicle v travels. A vehicle v may includeeither “a subject vehicle v”, which is a vehicle of interest, or “anearby vehicle v”, which is a vehicle present around the subjectvehicle.

The pedestrian-crossing support system 1 includes a man-detecting unit2, a subject-vehicle-position detecting unit 3 (i.e., a vehicle-positiondetecting unit), a communicating unit 4, a man-position/waiting-scorecalculating unit 5, a man-position/waiting-score storing unit 6, anearby-vehicle-position storing unit 7, a subject-vehicle-positionstoring unit 8, a road-map storing unit 9, a stopping-vehicledetermining unit 10, a stopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11, atravelling controller 12, and a pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit13 (i.e., a man-crossing-signal display unit).

The above components will be described individually.

The man-detecting unit 2 detects a man m, such as a pedestrian or abicyclist, who is present in a travelling direction of a subject vehiclev, and obtains relative position information regarding the man mrelative to the subject vehicle v. According to the embodiment, theman-detecting unit 2 may also detect prestored action patterns, forexample, a gesture (an action) of raising a hand, in addition to therelative position information. A specific method/apparatus for detectingaction patterns has been well-known. Means for detecting a man m on anopen road is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.2002-74595 entitled “Support System for Safe Driving of Vehicle”, theentire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. The wayof obtaining a relative position is disclosed in, for example, JapanesePatent Laid-Open No. 2005-234694 entitled “Vehicle Exterior MonitoringSystem”, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference. Recognition of gestures is proposed by, for example, Kinect(http://www.xbox.com/en-US/kinect).

The subject-vehicle-position detecting unit 3 obtains a current position(i.e., an absolute position on the ground) of the subject vehicle v.Specific methods/apparatuses for detecting a current position have beenwell-known. Such technique is, for example, Real Time Kinematic GlobalPositioning System (RTK-GPS), which is a kind of Global NavigationSatellite System (GNSS). Another technique is a self-position estimationtechnique using a landmark described in “Vehicle” (Kimio Kanai et al.,CORONA PUBLISHING CO., LTD., 2003, pp. 153-173, ISBN:978-4-339-03363-2), the entire contents of which are hereby incorporatedby reference.

The communicating unit 4 performs communication between the subjectvehicle v and a nearby vehicle v around the subject vehicle v. Specificmethods/apparatuses for communication have been well-known. Examples ofsuch technique include “Experimental Guideline for Inter-VehicleCommunications System using the 5.8 GHz-band (ITS FORUM RC-005)” and“Experimental Guideline for Vehicle Communications System using 700MHz-Band (ITS FORUM RC-006)” developed by ITS Info-communications Forum(http://www.itsforum.gr.jp/), and IEEE802.11p and IEEE 1609 developed byIEEE (http://www.ieee.org/). To communicate with the nearby vehicle varound the subject vehicle v, a routing technique on a position basis isrequired. Such technique is well-known as geo-routing. A procedure forcommunication will be described in detail below.

The man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 calculates an absoluteposition of the man m using the relative position information regardingthe man m (i.e., a potential-crossing-man who may cross a road) relativeto the subject vehicle v obtained by the man-detecting unit 2 and theabsolute position information regarding the subject vehicle v obtainedby the subject-vehicle-position detecting unit 3. Theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 also calculates an indexof waiting time, called herein a waiting score a, by measuring thewaiting time of the man to cross a road. According to the embodiment,the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 determines thegestures as in the description of the man-detecting unit 2. Actionpatterns of the gestures may be stored in the man-position/waiting-scorestoring unit 6. The procedure of the man-position/waiting-scorecalculating unit 5 will be described in detail below with reference toFIG. 4.

The man-position/waiting-score storing unit 6 stores the absoluteposition and the waiting score a of the man m, calculated by theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5. The absolute position andthe waiting score a of the man m may be result values which arecalculated by a man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 a (notshown) mounted in the nearby vehicle v, and are obtained through thecommunicating unit 4.

The nearby-vehicle-position storing unit 7 obtains a current position ofthe nearby vehicle v obtained by a subject-vehicle-position detectingunit 3 a (not shown) mounted in the nearby vehicle v through thecommunicating unit 4, and stores the obtained position.

The subject-vehicle-position storing unit 8 stores the current positionof the subject vehicle obtained by the subject-vehicle-positiondetecting unit 3 mounted in the subject vehicle v.

The road-map storing unit 9 stores a map (i.e., road map information)including road information regarding the surrounding of the subjectvehicle v travelling. The map stored in the road-map storing unit 9 isequivalent to a road map used in a car navigation system, and includesinformation, such as an intersection position, the number of lanes,one-way traffic, and a no-stopping zone.

The road-map storing unit 9 also stores a road map including positioninformation regarding a waiting zone w for crossing a road and asidewalk p described below. The waiting zone w and the sidewalk p can berepresented in two ways: a map representation using absolute coordinatesto define positions of the waiting zone w and the sidewalk p; and a maprepresentation using a relative distance from a road shoulder, in which,for example, the waiting zone may be defined at a position with adistance of a predetermined meter from the road shoulder, and thesidewalk may be defined at a position with a distance of a predeterminedmeter from the road shoulder. Specifically, in the road map information,the waiting zone w and the sidewalk p (see FIG. 3) may be eachrepresented as an area with a distance of a predetermined meter from theroadway d (see FIG. 3) in a predetermined section of the road map. Theroad map information may also include information regarding the waitingzone w and the sidewalk p as section information of a specific road,such as “Rout XX”.

The stopping-vehicle determining unit 10 determines whether or not thesubject vehicle v should be stopped to enable the man m to safely crossthe road, using the information regarding the position and the waitingscore a of the man m stored in the man-position/waiting-score storingunit 6, the position information regarding the nearby vehicle v storedin the nearby-vehicle-position storing unit 7, the position informationregarding the subject vehicle v stored in the subject-vehicle-positionstoring unit 8, and the road map information stored in the road-mapstoring unit 9. When the waiting score a exceeds a stopping-vehiclethreshold x, the subject vehicle v is stopped. When it is determinedthat the subject vehicle v should be stopped, a stopping-vehicle signalof stopping the subject vehicle v is transmitted to astopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 a (not shown) mounted in thenearby vehicle v using the communicating unit 4. The procedure of thestopping-vehicle determining unit 10 will be described in detail belowwith reference to FIG. 14.

The stopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 receives astopping-vehicle signal transmitted from a stopping-vehicle determiningunit 10 a mounted in the nearby vehicle v, and determines a stoppingposition of the subject vehicle v using the position informationregarding the nearby vehicle v stored in the nearby-vehicle-positionstoring unit 7, the position information regarding the subject vehicle vstored in the subject-vehicle-position storing unit 8, and the road mapinformation stored in the road-map storing unit 9. The procedure of thestopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 will be described in detailbelow with reference to FIG. 15.

The travelling controller 12 has a function of driving the subjectvehicle v to a destination, and a function of stopping the subjectvehicle v when the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10 or thestopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 determines that the subjectvehicle v should be stopped. The function of driving can use a knowntechnique described in, for example, “Vehicle” (Kimio Kanai et al.,CORONA PUBLISHING CO., LTD., 2003, pp. 174-199, ISBN:978-4-339-03363-2),the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

The pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13, mounted in the subjectvehicle v, is a traffic signal, which informs the man m whether or notthe man m can safely cross the road. When the stopping-vehicledetermining unit 10 or the stopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11determines that the subject vehicle v should be stopped, and thetravelling controller 12 stops the subject vehicle v, thepedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 displays a signal indicatingthat the man m is safe in crossing the road. Otherwise, thepedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 displays a signal indicatingthat the man m is unsafe in crossing the road.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of a vehicle having thepedestrian-crossing support system. With reference to FIG. 2, anembodiment of the pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 of thevehicle v having the pedestrian-crossing support system 1 will bedescribed hereinafter.

The pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 is an electric light,similar to a headlight i or a taillight k, and employs, for example, alight emitting diode (LED). The pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit13 is installed in a position where the man m around the vehicle v caneasily see the pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13. For example,the pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 is installed on thesidewalk side on the roof of the vehicle v. Unlike the headlight i andthe taillight k, the pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 turnson, for example, blue light, blue flashing light, red light, or no lightin response to an instruction from the stopping-vehicle determining unit10 or the stopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11. When the vehicle vis stopped, and the man m can safely cross the road, blue light isturned on to inform the man m that the man m can cross the road. Whenthe vehicle v is stopped, but the vehicle v will start travelling in apredetermined time, blue flashing light is turned on to inform the man mthat the vehicle v will start travelling in the predetermined time. Whenthe vehicle v is travelling, that is, the man m is unsafe in crossingthe road, red light is turned on to inform the man m that crossing theroad is unsafe. When the vehicle v is stopped, but the system cannotdetermine whether or not the man m can safely cross the road, light isturned off.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a situation in which vehicles having thepedestrian-crossing support system travel. With reference to FIG. 3,operations of the vehicle v having the pedestrian-crossing supportsystem 1 will be described.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the waiting zone wis present between the roadway d and the sidewalk p. The waiting zone wis for a man m who has a will to cross the road to wait. The waitingzone w can be readily installed by drawing a white line on the ground,so that the installation cost becomes inexpensive. Information regardingwhether or not there is a waiting zone w is included in the mapinformation, and the road-map storing unit 9 stores the road mapinformation.

In, at least, either case where a man m, who may cross the road, standsstill in the waiting zone w for a predetermined time period (forexample, the man m does not move more than three meters for one minute),or where the man m makes a predetermined gesture, such as raising ahand, in the waiting zone w for a predetermined time period, thepedestrian-crossing support system 1 determines that the man m has awill to cross the road, stops the vehicle v before the man m, andinforms the man m that the man m can safely cross the road by turning onblue light with the pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13.

For example, when a pedestrian-crossing support system 1 a (not shown)mounted in a vehicle v1 shown in FIG. 3 determines that the man m has awill to cross the road, the vehicle v1 stops at a stopping position h1before the man m, and turns on blue light with apedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 a.

The pedestrian-crossing support system 1 a transmits informationindicating that the vehicle v1 is going to stop, to nearby vehicles v ina predetermined distance from the vehicle v1 (for example, within 100 m)using the communicating unit 4. A vehicle v2 travelling in the same laneas the vehicle v1 receives this information, stops behind the vehiclev1, and turns off light with a pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit13 b. A vehicle v3 travelling in the opposite lane of the vehicle v1stops at a stopping position h2 before the man m, and turns on bluelight with a pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 c.

The vehicle v stops and turns on blue light with thepedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13, and then in, at least,either case where the man m has crossed the road, or where apredetermined time period has elapsed, to restart travelling of thevehicle v, the pedestrian-crossing support system 1 turns on blueflashing light with the pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13, andthereby informs the man m that the vehicle v will start travelling in apredetermined time. In the case where the vehicle v stops, and turns offlight with the pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13, blue flashinglight will not be turned on with the pedestrian-crossing-signal displayunit 13.

The vehicle v which is travelling turns on red light with thepedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 to inform the man m thatcrossing the road is unsafe.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit in the pedestrian-crossingsupport system. With reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, theprocedure of the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 will bedescribed. The man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 repeatedlyexecutes the procedure of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 at apredetermined time interval. The predetermined time interval is equal tothe cycle of the man-detecting unit 2 detecting the man m.

First, the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 determineswhether or not the man-detecting unit 2 detects a man m, such as apedestrian or a bicyclist, in a travelling direction of the subjectvehicle v (Step S11). If the man-detecting unit 2 detects one or moremen m (multiple men m may be detected in some cases) (Step S11, Yes),the process proceeds to Step S12. Otherwise, if no man m is detected(Step S11, No), the process proceeds to Step S14.

Then, when the man-detecting unit 2 detects a man m, theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 determines whether or notthe man m stands still or makes a gesture, such as raising a hand, inthe waiting zone w, and thereby determines whether or not the detectedman m has a will to cross the road (Step S12). When multiple men m aredetected, the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 determineswhether or not each of the men m stands still or makes the abovegesture. For the determination, the man-position/waiting-scorecalculating unit 5 obtains the relative position information regardingthe man m relative to the subject vehicle v detected by theman-detecting unit 2. According the embodiment, theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 may also obtain postureinformation regarding the gesture of the man m detected by theman-detecting unit 2.

The man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 obtains the absoluteposition information regarding the subject vehicle v obtained by thesubject-vehicle-position detecting unit 3. Theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 calculates an absoluteposition of the man m, using the relative position information regardingthe man m relative to the subject vehicle v and the absolute positioninformation regarding the subject vehicle v. Theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 also obtains a position ofthe waiting zone w from the road-map storing unit 9. Using the obtainedinformation, the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5determines whether or not the man m is in the waiting zone w.

Then, the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 determineswhether or not the man m has a will to cross the road, in such a manner,for example, that, at least, in either case where the man m does notmove more than three meters in the waiting zone w for one minute, orwhere the man m makes a gesture of raising a hand in the waiting zone wfor one minute, the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5determines that the man m has a will to cross the road. The actionpatterns of the gestures used for the above determination are prestoredin the man-position/waiting-score storing unit 6.

The thresholds for the above determination are not limited to the abovevalues (such as “three meters”, “one minute” as described above, and“five meters”, “30 seconds” may be also used.) If one or more men m aredetermined to have a will to cross the road (Step S12, Yes), the processproceeds to Step S13. If no man is determined to have a will to crossthe road (Step S12, No), the process proceeds to Step S14.

When two or more men m are determined to have a will to cross the road,the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 groups the waiting menm (Step S13). This step is for stopping the vehicle v at an appropriateposition when multiple men wait for crossing the road. Using theposition information regarding the men m detected by the man-detectingunit 2, the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 calculates adistance between any two of the multiple men m. When a distance betweenthe men m is not more than a predetermined distance (which is at leastseveral meters longer than the entire length of the vehicle v), such menm are grouped in a group g, and both end positions of the group g alongthe roadway d are calculated. For example, when the predetermineddistance is set to seven meters and the distance between the men m isnot more than seven meters, one group g is made. With reference to FIG.5, an example will be described.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing how the man-detecting unit in thepedestrian-crossing support system detects men. In FIG. 5, theman-detecting unit 2 (see FIG. 1) mounted in a subject vehicle v4detects eight men of a man m1 to a man m8. Five of the men of the man m1to the man m5 stand still in the waiting zone w for the predeterminedtime period, and these five men are determined to have a will to crossthe road in Step S12. On the other hand, since three of the men of theman m6 to the man m8 are outside of the waiting zone w, these three menare determined to have no will to cross the road in Step S12.

In this case, five of the men of the man m1 to the man m5 who aredetermined to have a will to cross the road are grouped. In the exampleof FIG. 5, when a distance between two of the men m is not more thanseven meters, such men are grouped in a single group g. The distancebetween the man m1 and the man m2, and the distance between the man m2and the man m3 are not more than seven meters, and thus three of the menof the man m1, the man m2, and the man m3 may be grouped in a group g1,for example.

Positions c of the men m at both ends of the group g1 in a travellingdirection along the roadway d are calculated. In the example of FIG. 5,both ends of an arrow indicating the group g1, that is, a position c1 ofthe man m1 and a position c2 of the man m3 in the travelling directionalong the roadway d are calculated, respectively. On the other hand, thedistance between the man m3 and the man m4, and the distance between theman m4 and the man m5 exceed seven meters, and therefore the man m4 andthe man m5 are not grouped. Even when a man belongs to no group g, aposition c in the travelling direction along the roadway d iscalculated. Thus, a position c3 is calculated for the man m4, and aposition c4 is calculated for the man m5.

For example, the distance between the man m3 and the man m6 is not morethan seven meters. However, the man m6 is outside of the waiting zone w,and is determined to have no will to cross the road in Step S12. Thus,the man m6 is not grouped in the group g1. If the group g becomes toolarge, a stopping position for the vehicle v cannot be secured. Totackle this problem, a maximum length for the group g is predetermined,and if the group g becomes larger than this predetermined maximumlength, the group g is divided at the position of this maximum length.The maximum length of the group g may be set to 20 m, for example.

Returning to FIG. 4, the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5shares position information regarding the men around the vehicleobtained in Step S13 through inter-vehicle communication (Step S14). Inother words, the position information regarding the men around thevehicle is shared with nearby vehicles v using the communicating unit 4.The position c of the group g or the man m, who is determined to have awill to cross the road in Step S12, in the travelling direction alongthe roadway d is transmitted to nearby vehicles v within thepredetermined distance (for example, within 100 m) from the subjectvehicle v. At the same time, such position information is received fromthe nearby vehicles v within the predetermined distance (for example,within 100 m) to the subject vehicle v. The information regarding thesubject vehicle v can be complemented using the above positioninformation detected by and received from the nearby vehicles v, evenwhen a man m who the subject vehicle v cannot detect is present aroundthe subject vehicle v.

Since the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 repeatedlyexecutes the procedure of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 at thepredetermined time interval, position information previously detected ina predetermined time period is also shared and used. For example, theposition information detected in a time period between the current timeand one minute ago may be shared. If the position information detectedin the previous predetermined time period is shared and used, the indexof waiting time, called herein the waiting score a, obtained in Step S16in the previous execution loop is also shared and used. A single waitingscore a is calculated for each of the men m or the groups g withoutduplication of the men m and the groups g.

The man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 associates the man mwith the position c (i.e., the man position) in the travelling directionalong the roadway d obtained in Step S14 (Step S15). This association ismade for two purposes. The first purpose is to remove duplicatedinformation regarding the same man m when the same man m is detected bymultiple vehicles v, or when the same man m previously detected is onceagain detected. The second purpose is to determine which vehicle v isresponsible for the calculation of the index of waiting time, calledherein the waiting score a, for each of the men m or the groups g.

To avoid duplication of the same man m, the distance between thepositions c of any two of the obtained multiple men m is calculated, andwhen the calculated distance is not more than a predetermined distance(i.e., deemed as a distance within a position detection error by theman-detecting unit 2), such multiple men m are identified as the sameman m. For example, when the distance between the positions c of any twoof the multiple men m is not more than 0.5 meter, such multiple men mare identified as the same man m. If the man m is the same as thatpreviously detected, the waiting score a corresponding to the previouslydetected man m or group g is used in the current execution. If the man mor the group g has not been previously detected, and is detected firstin the current execution, the waiting score a is initialized to zero.

The vehicle v that is to be responsible for calculating the waitingscore a for each man m or group g is determined. When only one vehicle vis detecting each man m or group g in the current execution, thisvehicle v is set to be responsible for calculating the waiting score a.When multiple vehicles v are detecting each man m or group g in thecurrent execution, the nearest vehicle v from the man m or the group g,for example, may be set to be responsible for calculating the waitingscore a. When any vehicle v is not detecting each man m or group g inthe current execution, the vehicle v1 which was responsible forcalculating the waiting score a in the previous execution loop, forexample, is once again responsible for the calculation in the currentexecution. However, the way of determining a vehicle to be responsiblefor calculating a waiting score a is not limited to the above manner.

The vehicle v responsible for calculating the waiting score a for eachman m or group g measures the waiting time of the man m or the group gto cross the road, and thereby calculates the waiting score a (StepS16). For each man m or group g who is determined to have a will tocross the road, that is, who is determined to wait for crossing the roadin Step S12, the waiting score a is increased as the waiting time of theman m or the group g increases. In other words, when the man m or thegroup g is first detected in the current execution, the initial value ofthe waiting score a is zero. When the same man m or the same group g asthat previously detected is detected once again, the waiting score aobtained in the previous execution loop is increased by the amount ofthe time period for one execution loop.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing a relation between a waiting score and awaiting time for a man to cross a road in the pedestrian-crossingsupport system. The waiting score a may be set to be increased in such amanner that, for example, the waiting score a be proportional to thewaiting time as shown in the graph in FIG. 6. The proportional constant(i.e., the inclination of the graph in FIG. 6) may be set to be anyvalue. For example, if the proportional constant is “1” and the unit oftime is second, the waiting score a becomes “10” when the waiting timeis ten seconds. The proportional constant may be varied according to thenumber of the men m belonging to the group g.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing a relation between a waiting score and awaiting time for a man to cross a road in the pedestrian-crossingsupport system. For example, as shown in the graph of FIG. 7, in thecase where at first, a man m waited, and one more man came and waited attime t1 so that these two men are grouped in a group g, the proportionalconstant after the time t1 may be set as twice that before the time t1.This reduces waiting time before the vehicle v stops by increasing thewaiting score a at a rapid pace when many men m are waiting for crossingthe road.

Returning to FIG. 4, in case that no vehicle v has detected each man mor each group g for a long time, the man-position/waiting-scorecalculating unit 5 determines whether or not such non-detection timeperiod exceeds a predetermined value called herein a reset threshold y(Step S17).

The man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 continues to calculatethe waiting score a even in a non-detection time period for the man m orthe group g detected in a past predetermined time period. However, whenthe man m or the group g has not been detected for a long time, the manm or the group g may not be still waiting at the position where the manm or the group g was detected at the last time period.

Non-detection of the man m or the group g means that no vehicle v may bepresent in an area where the man m or the group g can be detected. Inother words, when neither the man m nor the group g has been detectedfor a long time, no vehicle v is travelling around, and it is highlypossible that the man m or the group g has already crossed the road.

Accordingly, when neither the man m nor the group g has been detectedfor a long time, the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5determines that the man m or the group g has already crossed the road.For this determination, the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit5 measures the non-detection time period for each man m or each group gsince the last time when the man m or the group g was detected. Theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 then determines whether ornot the non-detection time period exceeds the predetermined resetthreshold y. If the non-detection time period does not exceed thethreshold (Step S17, No), the process proceeds to Step S19.

If the non-detection time period exceeds the reset threshold y (StepS17, Yes), the position corresponding to the man m or the group g iscanceled (Step S18). In other words, the man-position/waiting-scorecalculating unit 5 determines that the man m or the group gcorresponding to the non-detection time period which exceeds the resetthreshold y has already crossed the road, and the corresponding positionc and waiting score a are canceled.

In the last step, the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5shares the waiting score a with the nearby vehicles v throughinter-vehicle communication using the communicating unit 4 (Step S19).In other words, the position c and the waiting score a of each man m oreach group g are shared with vehicles v in the predetermined distance(for example, within 100 m), and stored in theman-position/waiting-score storing unit 6 thereof. The procedure of theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 has been described withreference to the flowchart of FIG. 4.

With reference to FIG. 8 to FIG. 13, an example of the procedure of theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 will be describedhereinafter. Each of FIG. 8, FIG. 10, and FIG. 12 is a plan view showinga different situation in which the vehicles having thepedestrian-crossing support system 1 travel. FIG. 9, FIG. 11, and FIG.13 are respective graphs, each showing a relation between a waitingscore and a waiting time for a man m or a group g to cross a road. Thegraph of FIG. 9 corresponds to the situation shown in FIG. 8, the graphof FIG. 11 corresponds to the situation shown in FIG. 10, and the graphof FIG. 13 corresponds to the situation shown in FIG. 12.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a different situation in which thevehicles having the pedestrian-crossing support system travel. FIG. 8shows four of the vehicles v of a vehicle v5 to a vehicle v8 travelling.A man-detecting unit 2 a to a man-detecting unit 2 d are mounted in thevehicle v5 to the vehicle v8, respectively. Each man-detecting unit hasa detection range r thereof, which is shown as a detection range r5 to adetection range r8 having a fan shape shown in hatch pattern. Thevehicle v5, the vehicle v6, and the vehicle v7 are travelling in thesame lane, and the detection range r5 of the man-detecting unit 2 amounted in the vehicle v5, the detection range r6 of the man-detectingunit 2 b mounted in the vehicle v6, and the detection range r7 of theman-detecting unit 2 c mounted in the vehicle v7 overlap in the waitingzone w, and no gap exists between the detection ranges, so that any oneof the vehicles v detects a man m9 in the waiting zone w.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing a relation between a waiting score and awaiting time for a man to cross a road in the pedestrian-crossingsupport system. In the graph shown in FIG. 9, which shows a relationbetween a waiting score a and a waiting time in the situation of FIG. 8,a time period in which the vehicle v5 detects the man m9 is shown as anarrow e5, a time period in which the vehicle v6 detects the man m9 isshown as an arrow e6, and a time period in which the vehicle v7 detectsthe man m9 is shown as an arrow e7. The arrow e5 and the arrow e6overlap in a part, and the arrow e6 and the arrow e7 overlap in a part.In every time period, any one of the vehicle v5, the vehicle v6, and thevehicle v7 is responsible for calculating the waiting score a of the manm9. The man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 of the responsiblevehicle consistently detects the man m9 and calculates the waiting scorea. At time t2, the waiting score a of the man m9 exceeds thestopping-vehicle threshold x. Thus, if it is possible for the vehicle v7travelling before the man m9 at the time t2 to safely stop before theman m9, then the vehicle v7 stops. Then, the man-position/waiting-scorecalculating unit 5 cancels the waiting score a of the man m9 (Step S18in FIG. 4). The procedure of stopping the vehicle will be described indetail below.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a different situation in which thevehicles having the pedestrian-crossing support system travel. FIG. 10shows three of the vehicles v of a vehicle v9 to a vehicle v11travelling. A man-detecting unit 2 e to a man-detecting unit 2 g aremounted in the vehicle v9 to the vehicle v11, respectively. Eachman-detecting unit has a detection range r thereof, which is shown as adetection range r9 to a detection range r11 having a fan shape shown inhatch pattern. The vehicle v9 and the vehicle v10 are travelling in thesame lane, and the detection range r9 of the man-detecting unit 2 emounted in the vehicle v9 and the detection range r10 of theman-detecting unit 2 f mounted in the vehicle v10 do not overlap in thewaiting zone w. A man m10 in the waiting zone w can be detected in sometime periods, and cannot be detected in other time periods.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing a relation between a waiting score and awaiting time for a man to cross a road in the pedestrian-crossingsupport system. In the graph shown in FIG. 11, which shows a relationbetween a waiting score a and a waiting time in the situation of FIG.10, a time period in which the vehicle v9 detects the man m10 is shownas an arrow e9, and a time period in which the vehicle v10 detects theman m10 is shown as an arrow e10. The arrow e9 and the arrow e10 do notoverlap, which indicates that the man m10 in the waiting zone w cannotbe detected during time t3 to time t4. However, even during the timewhen the man m10 cannot be detected, the procedure of theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 shown in FIG. 4 asdescribed above calculates the waiting score a. At time t5, the waitingscore a of the man m10 exceeds the stopping-vehicle threshold x. Thus,the vehicle v10 which is travelling before the man m10 at the time t5stops if the vehicle v10 can safely stop before the man m10. Then, theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 cancels the waiting scorea of the man m10. The procedure of stopping the vehicle will bedescribed in detail below.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a different situation in which thevehicles having the pedestrian-crossing support system travel. FIG. 12shows two of the vehicles v of a vehicle v12 and a vehicle v13travelling. A man-detecting unit 2 h and a man-detecting unit 2 i aremounted in the vehicle v12 and the vehicle v13, respectively. Eachman-detecting unit has a detection range r thereof, which is shown as adetection range r12 or a detection range r13 having a fan shape shown inhatch pattern. A vehicle v which can detect a man m11 in the waitingzone w is only the vehicle v12, and the man m11 cannot be detected for along time.

FIG. 13 is a graph showing a relation between a waiting score and awaiting time for a man to cross a road in the pedestrian-crossingsupport system. An arrow in FIG. 13 denotes a time period. In the graphshown in FIG. 13, which shows a relation between a waiting score a and awaiting time in the situation of FIG. 12, a time period in which thevehicle v12 detects the man m11 is shown as an arrow e12. After time t6,the man m11 in the waiting zone w cannot be detected. Theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 calculates the waitingscore a even during the time when the man m11 cannot be detected. Attime t7, the non-detection time period for the man m11 exceeds the resetthreshold y. Thus, the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5determines that the man m11 corresponding to the non-detection timeperiod which exceeds the reset threshold y has already crossed the road,and cancels the waiting score a of the man m11.

That is, when a man once detected by the man-detecting unit 2 has notbeen detected for the predetermined time period, theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 may reset the waitingscore of the man.

The procedure of the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10 will bedescribed hereinafter.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a stopping-vehicledetermining unit in the pedestrian-crossing support system. Theprocedure of the flowchart shown in FIG. 14 is performed for each man mor each group g stored in the man-position/waiting-score storing unit 6.When a vehicle v which performs the procedure of the stopping-vehicledetermining unit 10 is travelling, red light is turned on with thepedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 to inform a man m thatcrossing the road is unsafe.

First, the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10 obtains a waiting scorea of a man m or a group g from the man-position/waiting-score storingunit 6, and determines whether or not the waiting score a exceeds thestopping-vehicle threshold x (Step S21). If the waiting score a exceedsthe stopping-vehicle threshold x (Step S21, Yes), the process proceedsto Step S22. Otherwise, if the waiting score a does not exceed thestopping-vehicle threshold x (Step S21, No), the process of theflowchart shown in FIG. 14 is ended, and another process of theflowchart shown in FIG. 14 is started for a man m or a group g detectednext by the man-detecting unit 2.

Then, the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10 determines whether or nota nearby vehicle v is present in the travelling lane of the subjectvehicle between the subject vehicle v having the stopping-vehicledetermining unit 10 and the obtained man m or group g (Step S22). Thisstep is for, when multiple vehicles v are travelling around the vehiclev, stopping the vehicle v at an appropriate position to enable the man mor the group g to safely cross the road. In other words, when a nearbyvehicle v is present in the travelling lane of the subject vehiclebetween the subject vehicle v and the man m or the group g, the subjectvehicle v should be stopped with securing a space so that the nearbyvehicle v can stop before the man m or the group g.

According to the embodiment, to achieve this operation, each of thevehicles v determines its stopping position h successively from thenearest to the farthest vehicle to the man m or the group g. The subjectvehicle v obtains positions of nearby vehicles from thenearby-vehicle-position storing unit 7, and determines whether or notany nearby vehicle v is present in the travelling lane of the subjectvehicle between the subject vehicle v and the man m or the group g. Ifany nearby vehicle v is present in the travelling lane of the subjectvehicle between the subject vehicle v and the man m or the group g (StepS22, No), the process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 14 is ended, andthe stopping-vehicle analyzing unit 11 determines a stopping position haccording to the procedure of the flowchart shown in FIG. 15 asdescribed below.

If no nearby vehicle v is present in the travelling lane of the subjectvehicle between the subject vehicle v and the man m or the group g (StepS22, Yes), the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10 determines whetheror not the subject vehicle v can safely stop (Step S23). In Step S23,specifically, the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10 obtains theposition information regarding the man m or the group g from theman-position/waiting-score storing unit 6, the position informationregarding the subject vehicle v from the subject-vehicle-positionstoring unit 8, and the road map around the subject vehicle v from theroad-map storing unit 9. The stopping-vehicle determining unit 10determines whether or not the subject vehicle v can stop in apredetermined range of deceleration with which the subject vehicle v cansafely stop, before the man m or the group g, and outside of ano-stopping zone such as an intersection.

If the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10 determines that the subjectvehicle cannot safely stop (Step S23, No), the process of the flowchartshown in FIG. 14 is ended, and the subject vehicle v passes withoutstopping before the man m or the group g.

If it is determined that the vehicle can safely stop, and the stoppingposition h is determined (Step S23, Yes), the stopping-vehicledetermining unit 10 transmits a stopping-vehicle signal to nearbyvehicles v around the subject vehicle (Step S24). In other words, thestopping position h of the subject vehicle v is transmitted to thenearby vehicles v within the predetermined distance (for example, within100 m) from the subject vehicle v using the communicating unit 4. Eachnearby vehicle v receives the stopping position h of the subject vehiclev, and the stopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 a mounted in thenearby vehicle v determines a stopping position h of the nearby vehiclev so as not to crash into the subject vehicle v according to theprocedure of the flowchart shown in FIG. 15 as described below.

The subject vehicle v stops at the stopping position h, and turns onblue light with the pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 (StepS25). Specifically, the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10 instructsthe travelling controller 12 to stop the vehicle, and thereby thesubject vehicle v is stopped at the stopping position h. At the sametime, when the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10 sends theinstruction of stopping the vehicle, and the travelling controller 12stops the subject vehicle v, the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10determines that the man m can safely cross the road, and turns on bluelight with the pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 to inform theman m to safely cross the road (In Step S25, no nearby vehicle v ispresent in the travelling lane of the subject vehicle between thesubject vehicle v and the man m or the group g.) To check if the vehiclestops, the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10 may use a signalreceived from the travelling controller 12, or the stopping position ofthe subject-vehicle-position storing unit 8.

Then, the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10 waits until apredetermined time period has elapsed, or the man has crossed the road(Step S26). Specifically, the subject vehicle v stops, turns on bluelight with the pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13, and then in,at least, either case where the predetermined time period has elapsed,or where the man m has crossed the road, turns on blue flashing lightwith the pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 to restarttravelling of the subject vehicle v, and thereby the man m is informedthat the subject vehicle v will start travelling in a predetermined timeperiod.

In Step S26, the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10 determines whetheror not the man m has crossed the road using the absolute position of theman m calculated by the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5and the map information stored in the road-map storing unit 9.Specifically, the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5calculates the absolute position of the man m using the relativeposition of the man m detected by the man-detecting unit 2 and theabsolute position of the subject vehicle v detected by thesubject-vehicle-position detecting unit 3. When the position of the manm is on the roadway, a “crossing” state is determined. When the positionof the man m is on the sidewalk or in the waiting zone for crossing theroad, a “crossed” state is determined. That is, when the “crossing”state is determined to be turned to the “crossed” state, the man m isdetermined to have crossed the road.

As described above, the road map stored in the road-map storing unit 11can be represented in two ways: a map representation using absolutecoordinates to define positions of the sidewalk and the waiting zone;and a map representation using a relative distance from a road shoulder,in which, for example, the waiting zone may be defined at a positionwith a distance of a predetermined meter from the road shoulder, and thesidewalk may be defined at a position with a distance of a predeterminedmeter from the road shoulder. When the absolute map representation isused, the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10 determines whether or notthe absolute position of the man m is on the sidewalk or in the waitingzone in the map. When the relative map representation is used, the mapis referred with the absolute position of the man m, and thepredetermined meter, with which the sidewalk/the waiting zone is definedfrom the road shoulder, at the absolute position of the man m isobtained. Then, it is determined whether or not the man is on thesidewalk or in the waiting zone by relatively comparing the position ofthe man m with the position of the road shoulder detected according to aknown technique disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.H6-266828 entitled “Vehicle Exterior Monitoring System for Vehicle”, theentire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

After blue flashing light is turned on with thepedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13, and the predetermined timeperiod has elapsed, the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10 turns onred light with the pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit, and restartsthe travelling of the subject vehicle v (Step S27). When the travellingof the vehicle is restarted, the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10instructs the pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 to turn on redlight while the subject vehicle v is travelling, and informs the man mthat crossing the road is unsafe, as described above. The procedure ofthe stopping-vehicle determining unit 10 has been described withreference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 14.

The procedure of the stopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 will bedescribed hereinafter.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the procedure of thestopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit in the pedestrian-crossingsupport system. Similar to the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10,when the vehicle v which performs the procedure of thestopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 is travelling, red light isturned on with the pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 to informthe man m that crossing the road is unsafe.

First, the stopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 determines whetheror not a stopping-vehicle signal is received (Step S31). Specifically, astopping position h of a nearby vehicle v within the predetermineddistance (for example, within 100 m) from the subject vehicle v isreceived using the communicating unit 4. This stopping position h of thenearby vehicle v is the position transmitted in Step S24 of theprocedure of the stopping-vehicle determining unit 10 shown in FIG. 14.If the stopping position h of the nearby vehicle v is received (StepS31, Yes), the process proceeds to Step S32. Otherwise, if no stoppingposition h of the nearby vehicle v is received (Step S31, No), theprocess of the flowchart shown in FIG. 15 is ended.

Then, using the communicating unit 4, the stopping-vehicle-signalanalyzing unit 11 determines whether or not the stopping position h ofthe nearby vehicle v preceding the subject vehicle v, that is, thenearby vehicle v present in the travelling lane of the subject vehiclebetween the subject vehicle v and the man m or the group g, is alreadydetermined (Step S32). This step is for determining the stoppingposition h successively from the nearest to the farthest vehicle to theman m or the group g, similar to Step S22. If the stopping position h ofthe nearby vehicle v present in the travelling lane of the subjectvehicle between the subject vehicle v and the man m or the group g isnot determined (Step S32, No), the process of the flowchart shown inFIG. 15 is ended, and again, the procedure of the flowchart shown inFIG. 15 is repeatedly performed until the stopping position h of thenearby vehicle v, which is present in the travelling lane of the subjectvehicle between the subject vehicle v and the man m or the group g, isdetermined and transmitted to the subject vehicle v.

If the stopping position h of the nearby vehicle v, which is in thetravelling lane of the subject vehicle between the subject vehicle v andthe man m or the group g, is determined (Step S32, Yes), thestopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 determines a stopping positionh where the subject vehicle v can safely stop (Step S33). In otherwords, since the stopping position h of the nearby vehicle v, which ispresent in the travelling lane of the subject vehicle between thesubject vehicle v and the man m or the group g, is determined, thestopping position h of the subject vehicle v following the nearbyvehicle v is determined. Specifically, the stopping-vehicle-signalanalyzing unit 11 obtains the position of the man m or the group g fromthe man-position/waiting-score storing unit 6, the position of thesubject vehicle v from the subject-vehicle-position storing unit 8, andthe road map around the subject vehicle v from the road-map storing unit9, and determines the stopping position h of the subject vehicle v,which is behind the stopping position h of the nearby vehicle v obtainedin Step S32 and outside of the no-stopping zone such as an intersection.

When no nearby vehicle v is present in the travelling lane of thesubject vehicle between the subject vehicle v and the man m or the groupg, but a nearby vehicle v is present only in the opposite lane of thesubject vehicle v, the stopping position h of the subject vehicle v isdetermined so that the subject vehicle v can safely stop in apredetermined range of deceleration, before the man m or the group g,and outside of the no-stopping zone such as an intersection.

After determining the stopping position h of the subject vehicle v, thestopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 uses the communicating unit 4to transmit the stopping position h of the subject vehicle v to thenearby vehicles v within the predetermined distance (for example, within100 m) from the subject vehicle v (i.e., the nearby vehicles v aroundthe subject vehicle v) (Step S34). Each nearby vehicle v receives thestopping position h of the subject vehicle v, and thestopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 a mounted in the nearbyvehicle v determines its stopping position h so as not to crash into thesubject vehicle v according to the procedure of the flowchart shown inFIG. 15, successively from the nearest to the farthest vehicle v to theman m or the group g.

Then, the stopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 stops the subjectvehicle v at the stopping position h. The stopping-vehicle-signalanalyzing unit 11 instructs the travelling controller 12 to stop thevehicle, and thereby the subject vehicle v is stopped at the stoppingposition h. At the same time, in the case where thestopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 sends the instruction ofstopping the vehicle and the travelling controller 12 stops the subjectvehicle v, and where a nearby vehicle v is present in the travellinglane of the subject vehicle between the subject vehicle v and the man mor the group g, the subject vehicle v turns off light with thepedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 in case that a nearby vehiclev travels in the opposite lane at the stopping position h of the subjectvehicle v (Step S35).

Otherwise, that is, in the case where the stopping-vehicle-signalanalyzing unit 11 sends the instruction of stopping the vehicle and thetravelling controller 12 stops the subject vehicle v, and where nonearby vehicle v is present in the travelling lane of the subjectvehicle between the subject vehicle v and the man m or the group g, thestopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 determines that the man m cansafely cross the road, and turns on blue light with thepedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 to inform the man m that theman m can safely cross the road.

The subject vehicle v stops, and turns off light or turns on blue lightwith the pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13, and then thestopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 waits until the nearby vehiclev which stops in front of the subject vehicle v (i.e., the precedingvehicle) starts travelling (Step S36). When no nearby vehicle v ispresent in the travelling lane of the subject vehicle between thesubject vehicle v and the man m or the group g (i.e., when the subjectvehicle turns on blue light with the pedestrian-crossing-signal displayunit 13), the stopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 waits until thenearby vehicle v which stops before the man m or the group g in theopposite lane starts travelling. Also, in the case where no nearbyvehicle v is present in the travelling lane of the subject vehiclebetween the subject vehicle v and the man m or the group g, and when thenearby vehicle v, which stops before the man m or the group g in theopposite lane, turns on blue flashing light with thepedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 to restart travelling (StepS26), the subject vehicle v turns on blue flashing light with thepedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 at the same time to informthe man m that the subject vehicle v will start travelling in thepredetermined time period.

Then, when the nearby vehicle v in front of the subject vehicle v startstravelling, the stopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 of the subjectvehicle v turns on red light with the pedestrian-crossing-signal displayunit 13, and restarts the travelling of the subject vehicle v (StepS37). When no nearby vehicle v is present in the travelling lane of thesubject vehicle between the subject vehicle v and the man m or the groupg (i.e., when the subject vehicle v turns on blue light with thepedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13), and the nearby vehicle v,which stops before the man m or the group g in the opposite lane, startstravelling, the subject vehicle v restarts travelling. As describedabove, when the subject vehicle v is travelling, red light is turned onwith the pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit 13 to inform the man mthat crossing the road is unsafe. The procedure of thestopping-vehicle-signal analyzing unit 11 has been described withreference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 15. As described above, theoperations of the vehicle v having the pedestrian-crossing supportsystem 1 shown in FIG. 3 can be achieved in the above embodiment.

<Modification>

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a modification ofthe pedestrian-crossing support system. A configuration of themodification of the pedestrian-crossing support system 1 as anembodiment of the present invention will be described with reference toFIG. 16. In the modification, the pedestrian-crossing support system 1is also mounted in a vehicle v, such as an autonomous vehicle or apassenger automobile, and supports a man m, such as a pedestrian or abicyclist, in safely crossing a road on which the vehicle v travels. Theconfiguration of the modification of the pedestrian-crossing supportsystem 1 is similar to that of the pedestrian-crossing support system 1described above, but has a difference in that the man-detecting unit 2is not mounted in the vehicle v. Instead of the man-detecting unit 2, aman-detecting unit 2 z installed, for example, in the waiting zone w oron the sidewalk p functions as the man-detecting unit 2. The othercomponents are the same as those in the pedestrian-crossing supportsystem 1 described above, and the detailed description will be omitted.

FIG. 17 is a plan view showing a situation in which the modification ofthe pedestrian-crossing support system is carried out. FIG. 17 shows thesituation in which three of the vehicles v of a vehicle v14 to a vehiclev16 having the modification of the pedestrian-crossing support system 1travel.

According to operations of the modification of the pedestrian-crossingsupport system 1, the man-detecting unit 2 z is installed in theenvironment. Specifically, the man-detecting unit 2 z is a unitdetecting a man using, for example, a camera installed on a utility poleon a road. The man-detecting unit 2 z is configured by a known techniqueused in, for example, a monitoring camera. The man-detecting unit 2 ztransmits the position information regarding the detected man m to theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit 5 of the pedestrian-crossingsupport system 1 mounted in the vehicle v through the communicating unit4. After that, according to the same procedure as that of thepedestrian-crossing support system 1 described above, the operations ofthe vehicle v having the pedestrian-crossing support system 1 will beachieved.

The above configuration of the modification of the pedestrian-crossingsupport system 1 enables reduction in the cost of thepedestrian-crossing support system 1 mounted in the vehicle v. In anenvironment in which monitoring cameras have been installed on the road,the configuration of the modification has an advantage that installationof the man-detecting unit 2 z is not necessary. The man-detecting unit 2z, which is installed on the road, detecting a man m has an advantage ofimproved precision for detecting the man m, compared to theman-detecting unit 2, which is mounted in the moving vehicle v,detecting the man m.

The embodiments provide a vehicle support system for a pedestrian tosafely cross a road even when no crosswalk is installed on the road.Such vehicle system has an advantage of avoidance of a crash and safetravelling for both pedestrians and vehicles.

1. A vehicle support system for supporting a man in safely crossing aroad, mounted in a vehicle, the vehicle support system comprising: aman-detecting unit detecting the man in a travelling direction of thevehicle; a vehicle-position detecting unit detecting a position of thevehicle; a man-position/waiting-score calculating unit determining theman detected by the man-detecting unit to be at least onepotential-crossing-man who may cross the road, calculating an absoluteposition of the at least one potential-crossing-man as a man positionusing relative position information regarding the at least onepotential-crossing-man relative to the vehicle and position informationregarding the vehicle obtained by the vehicle-position detecting unit,measuring waiting time of the at least one potential-crossing-man tocross the road, calculating a waiting score, which is an index ofwaiting time for the at least one potential-crossing-man, and storingthe calculated result in a man-position/waiting-score storing unit; astopping-vehicle determining unit determining whether or not the vehicleshould be stopped, based on the man position and the waiting score ofthe at least one potential-crossing-man; a travelling controller forstopping the vehicle when the stopping-vehicle determining unitdetermines that the vehicle should be stopped; and a man-crossing-signaldisplay unit displaying information to inform the at least onepotential-crossing-man whether or not the at least onepotential-crossing-man can safely cross the road, based on aninstruction of the stopping-vehicle determining unit.
 2. The vehiclesupport system according to claim 1, further comprising: a road-mapstoring unit storing information regarding whether or not, in road mapinformation, there is a waiting zone installed between a roadway and asidewalk, the waiting zone for the man to wait for crossing the road,wherein when determining at least either of a case where the man in thewaiting zone detected by the man-detecting unit stands still for apredetermined time, or a case where the man is taking a predeterminedaction for a predetermined time, the man-position/waiting-scorecalculating unit determines the detected man to be the at least onepotential-crossing-man, and the stopping-vehicle determining unitdetermines that the vehicle should be stopped when the waiting score ofthe at least one potential-crossing-man exceeds a predeterminedthreshold.
 3. The vehicle support system according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a communicating unit communicating between the vehicle and anearby vehicle around the vehicle, wherein theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit uses the communicating unitto share the position information regarding the man around the vehiclewith the nearby vehicle around the vehicle.
 4. The vehicle supportsystem according to claim 1, further comprising: a communicating unitcommunicating between the vehicle and a nearby vehicle around thevehicle, wherein the stopping-vehicle determining unit determineswhether or not the nearby vehicle is present between the man positionand the vehicle based on position information regarding the nearbyvehicle obtained using the communicating unit, and determines a stoppingposition of the vehicle.
 5. The vehicle support system according toclaim 1, wherein when determining that the vehicle should be stopped andchecking that the vehicle is stopped, the stopping-vehicle determiningunit instructs the man-crossing-signal display unit to turn on lightindicating that the at least one potential-crossing-man can safely crossthe road, and after an elapse of a predetermined time, thestopping-vehicle determining unit instructs the man-crossing-signaldisplay unit to turn the light to flashing to indicate that the vehiclewill start travelling in a short time period.
 6. The vehicle supportsystem according to claim 2, wherein the road-map storing unit storesmap information including a no-stopping zone as road informationregarding an environment where the vehicle travels, and thestopping-vehicle determining unit refers to the road-map storing unitand determines a stopping position to be set outside of the no-stoppingzone.
 7. The vehicle support system according to claim 2, wherein the atleast one potential-crossing-man comprises a plurality ofpotential-crossing-men, and when the plurality of potential-crossing-menare present in the waiting zone, the man-position/waiting-scorecalculating unit groups the plurality of potential-crossing-men into agroup if a predetermined condition is satisfied, and varies the waitingscore according to the number of men in the group.
 8. The vehiclesupport system according to claim 1, wherein when a man once detected bythe man-detecting unit is not detected for a predetermined time period,the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit resets the waiting scoreof the at least one potential-crossing-man.
 9. The vehicle supportsystem according to claim 3, wherein the man-detecting unit is installedon a side of the road on which the vehicle travels, and informationregarding a man detected by the man-detecting unit is obtained throughthe communicating unit.
 10. A method for supporting a man in safelycrossing a road using a vehicle system including a man-detecting unitdetecting the man in a travelling direction of a vehicle, avehicle-position detecting unit detecting a position of the vehicle, aman-position/waiting-score calculating unit, a stopping-vehicledetermining unit, a travelling controller, and a man-crossing-signaldisplay unit, the method comprising the steps of: with theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit, determining the mandetected by the man-detecting unit to be at least onepotential-crossing-man who may cross the road, calculating an absoluteposition of the at least one potential-crossing-man as a man positionusing relative position information regarding the at least onepotential-crossing-man relative to the vehicle and position informationregarding the vehicle obtained by the vehicle-position detecting unit,measuring waiting time of the at least one potential-crossing-man tocross the road, calculating a waiting score, which is an index ofwaiting time for the at least one potential-crossing-man, and storingthe calculated result in a man-position/waiting-score storing unit; andwith the stopping-vehicle determining unit, determining whether or notthe vehicle should be stopped, based on the man position and the waitingscore of the at least one potential-crossing-man, and when determiningthat the vehicle should be stopped, instructing the travellingcontroller to stop the vehicle and instructing the man-crossing-signaldisplay unit to display information indicating that the at least onepotential-crossing-man can safely cross the road.
 11. The methodaccording to claim 10, the vehicle system further including a road-mapstoring unit storing information regarding whether or not, in road mapinformation, there is a waiting zone installed between a roadway and asidewalk, the waiting zone for the man to wait for crossing the road,the method further comprising the steps of: with theman-position/waiting-score calculating unit, when determining at leasteither of a case where the man in the waiting zone detected by theman-detecting unit stands still for a predetermined time, or a casewhere the man is taking a predetermined action for a predetermined time,determining the detected man to be the at least onepotential-crossing-man; and with the stopping-vehicle determining unit,determining that the vehicle should be stopped when the waiting score ofthe at least one potential-crossing-man exceeds a predeterminedthreshold.
 12. The vehicle support system according to claim 4, whereinthe man-detecting unit is installed on a side of the road on which thevehicle travels, and information regarding a man detected by theman-detecting unit is obtained through the communicating unit.